Dish wins ABC action over Hopper

A US district court judge has ruled that DTH broadcaster Dish can continue to use its AutoHop and PrimeTime Anytime features on its ‘Hopper’ DVR, and refused network broadcaster ABC’s application to bar the applications when viewing its channels.

Judge Laura Swain of the Southern District of New York, United States District Court, ruled in favour of Dish. R. Stanton Dodge, Dish EVP/general counsel, in a statement said: “This decision is yet another victory for American consumers, and we are proud to have stood by their side in this important fight over the fundamental rights of consumer choice and control.

“This is the third federal court decision that has sided with DISH on consumers’ right to enjoy television as they want, when they want, including the right to skip commercials, if they so choose.”

With the PrimeTime Anytime feature, users have the ability to easily record the primetime shows on up to each of the four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) and save them for up to eight days. The AutoHop feature can be enabled by users to play back certain PrimeTime Anytime recordings commercial-free, starting the day after broadcast.